


Not Worth It

by ThirdGenerationRockette



Series: Sticks and Stones [2]
Category: The Newsroom (US TV)
Genre: F/M, Post-Engagement
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-18
Updated: 2018-02-18
Packaged: 2019-03-20 23:42:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13728504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThirdGenerationRockette/pseuds/ThirdGenerationRockette
Summary: He isn’t quite sure who spots who first, but he feels his fists curl at the exact same second Mackenzie rests a warning hand on his arm and steps closer to him.





	Not Worth It

He isn’t quite sure who spots who first, but he feels his fists curl at the exact same second Mackenzie rests a warning hand on his arm and steps closer to him. For a few seconds it feels like a stand-off, and he bristles, silently trying to talk himself down, only to be riled up all over again when a smirk is levelled at him from across the room.

Mackenzie must feel his hackles rising because she reaches down and pushes her fingers between his, uncoiling the fist currently harbouring his rage, gripping his hand tightly. He wonders if it’s for her good, or for his, perhaps both. A month ago they sat up late together one night and he listened with a growing unease as she told him about her relationship with Brian. She told him about his manipulation, his controlling tendencies, his constant beating down of her self-esteem, about the mental abuse, and finally the physical. She had been calm, pragmatic, verging on detached, which he had understood completely, well aware of the need to do whatever necessary to survive. She told him about the trips to the ER, about having to lie to her mother about a broken wrist (he suspects she guessed, Penny McHale is a smart woman, but he knows she would have flown over and laid Brian out with one punch if she had known for certain).

He had felt sick when she admitted feeling stupid for not walking away, for not standing up to him, and then cold fury had taken the place of his nausea. Filled with rage at Brian for treating her that way, for making her feel weak, her, Mackenzie McHale, the strongest person he knows…and then his anger had turned inwards as he realised just what he had done by bringing in the one person she had probably hoped she would never have to see again. The person currently crossing the room towards them, customary smug look on his face, although God only knows what he has to be smug about, the gutless motherfucker.

Mackenzie’s grip on his hand tightens, almost imperceptibly but not quite, and it’s combined with her other hand coming to rest on his arm, having what he assumes was the desired effect when Brian’s eyes flick quickly to the engagement ring on her finger (it’s ostentatious, he admits that, but hell, there isn’t a diamond in the world big enough to express what he feels for her) before moving back to her face and then to his.

“I read about the engagement.” Brian steps up closer, a tactic Will knows is an attempt at intimidation, and one that almost makes him laugh out loud given the five inch height advantage he has over him. “Been a few months though, I wasn’t sure it’d still be on.”

Jesus, he wants to punch his smug fucking face, and only Mackenzie’s hands on him, along with the tension he can feel radiating from her, stops him.

“Would that be because you haven’t ever found someone willing to marry _you_ , Brian?” Mackenzie stares defiantly in his direction, not backing down even in the face of his scornful sneer. “I can’t imagine why that would be…oh no, wait, yes I can.”

“Whatever, Mac.” Brian gives a short, bitter laugh and Will feels her fingers grasp his own even tighter as he goes on. “I get it, you made your choice, but don’t act like you wouldn’t have given fucking anything for me to put a ring on your finger back in the day.”

“Oh, I think a ball and chain would have been more your style, don’t you?” Her voice drips with hatred and fuck, he’s proud of her. “And please don’t flatter yourself, I think we both know I’d have thrown myself under a bus before I’d have married you.”

“Really?” “Rocking back on his heels and crossing his arms in front of him, he snorts mirthlessly. “Damn shame I never felt the need to ask.”

“Listen, asshole.” Keeping hold of her hand, he steps towards Brian, moving so close that there’s barely a space between them, pulling himself up to his full height and looking down on him. “I know what you did and I know what you are, you’re a fucking bully, using bully tactics to make yourself feel like a bigger man. Well guess what? It doesn’t make you bigger, it makes you smaller, it makes you the lowest of the low.”

“What stories has your girlfriend been telling you, Will?” he asks, looking quickly at Mackenzie who says nothing, simply gives his hand another squeeze. “She always was a fucking drama queen who-“

At that, the simmering rage becomes a boil and before he can really talk himself down he pulls his hand from Mackenzie’s, steps in front of her and shoves Brian against the wall. He’s vaguely aware of her hand on his arm, of her pleading with him to stop, but he’s almost blinded by the memory of the night they talked, so freshly angry with Brenner for what he did that he can think of nothing other than beating him to a pulp.

“Billy, please.” Her voice cuts in again, determined to make him stop, and something in his brain knows she’s right. “Stop it, this isn’t you, and he’s not worth it, he’s _really_ not worth it, you know that.”

He holds Brian up against the wall for a few long seconds, hoping that the look he’s giving him is threat enough because he knows she’s right. Brian isn’t worth this, and with a final push that sees him bounce back off the wall, he lets him go but doesn’t move back to let him pass.

“I would like nothing more than to ask you to step outside so I could beat the fucking crap out of you.” He keeps his voice low, aware that they’re probably attracting some attention and not wanting this situation to become anything more than it is. “But I won’t, and I’ll tell you why-“

“Because your girlfriend says you can’t,” Brian says, flinching slightly as Will takes a deep breath.

“Firstly, you fucking dumbass, she’s not my girlfriend, she’s my _fiancée_ ,” he says, aware of Mackenzie moving to stand next to him, probably because she knows standing there might go some way towards calming him down. “And yeah, she’d rather I didn’t waste my time on you, and because I have the ability to respect the opinion of the woman I love, I’m okay with that.”

“You’re sure she just doesn’t want you to mess up my face in case she decides to run back for one final pre-wedding fling.” The sneer is back on Brian’s face and now it’s Mackenzie whose anger is palpable. “Sure about that, Will?”

“Here’s the thing.” Mackenzie sounds calm even if her sudden grasp of Will’s hand tells him otherwise. “You’re like a fly, Brian, annoying, appearing every so often, but not something we lose sleep over. What I _would_ lose sleep over is starting married life with my husband in prison all because he couldn’t resist the understandable urge to knock you down several pegs. So, what we’re going to do is leave now, which means you’re going to need to find someone else to bother, I’m afraid.”

Will gives him one final glare that he hopes serves as a decent warning that should they bump into each other again Brian may not be so lucky, before squeezing Mackenzie’s hand and heading for the door. He doesn’t say anything when she threads her fingers even more tightly through his as they step out on the street, he simply moves closer to her and returns the gesture. He knows she’s thinking, processing everything and she’ll say something when she’s ready. If this brings up anything she wants to talk about, she knows he’s there, and if she doesn’t, she knows he won’t push her. As a taxi comes to a stop, she turns to him, her heels meaning she doesn’t have to lean up too far, and kisses him softly on the cheek.

“Come on,” she says, tugging on his hand as she climbs into the car. “Let’s go home.”


End file.
